Previously, many types of presses have been used in endeavoring to provide an effective means to compress a beverage media, such as coffee grounds or tea leaves to obtain an enhanced flavor and strain the residual fines from the brewed beverage.
The prior art listed below did not disclose patents that possess any of the novelty of the instant invention; however the following U.S. patents are considered related:
Pat. No.InventorIssue Date5,478,586ConnerDec. 26, 19955,979,299Hornsby et al.Nov. 9, 19996,324,966 B1JoergensenDec. 4, 20016,422,133 B1BradyJul. 23, 20027,213,507 B2Glucksman et al.May 8, 2007D556,454 SBodumApr. 15, 2008D573,369 SGaussJul. 22, 2008D594,267 SBodumJun. 16, 20097,578,231 B2LiuAug. 25, 2009
Conner in U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,586 teaches a container having a cap and a press slidably mounted therein. The press has a filter on one end and a handle on the other. A user places the press in the container and adds coffee grounds or tea leaves and hot water on top of the filter which are allowed to steep. The user pulls upward on the handle trapping the residue between the filter and the cap and removes the cap. The user then drinks the beverage from the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,299 issued to Hornsby et al. is for a plunger filter infusion device consisting of a container, a plunger having a resilient plunger head slidable with in the container, and an insert in the base of the container. Infusible material is placed in the insert and heated water is poured into the container with the plunge slid into the container until the plunger head engages the insert. The infusible material is thus confined by the plunger and may be removed allowing cleaning and disposal of the material.
Joergensen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,324,966 B1 discloses a piston-type coffee maker having a cylindrical container, a lid, and a piston with a rod and a handle, where the piston is made as a filter for the ground coffee. The device is for making a single cup of coffee and for keeping the temperature at a suitable level for drinking. The coffee maker is adapted to be manufactured at low cost. The walls, lid and bottom are made to be heat isolating. An upper rim of the container has a locking member cooperatively engaging a corresponding member on the lid.
Brady in U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,133 B1 teaches a steeping apparatus to impart a flavor of food material to the liquid to produce a flavored beverage. A plunger is movable within a container and includes a filter element permitting the flow of liquid when lowered inhibiting the passage of the solid food material. A movable buffer is situated above the plunger and when lowered the food material is decoupled from the beverage.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,213,507 B2 issued to Glucksman et al. is for plunger filter infusion system which includes a container and an infuser. The infuser is positioned in a liquid, such as hot water and has a chamber for containing infusible materials, such as tea leaves. A plunger includes a piston with a seal and flap valves. After a brewing time has elapsed, a user pushes an operator to move the piston past a perforated wall portion in the chamber. When the piston reaches a solid wall portion at the bottom of the chamber the flap valves open to allow liquid to escape. However, small apertures aligned with the flap valves prevent the passage or the infusible material. Consequently the material is isolated when the piston reaches the bottom of the chamber.
Liu in U.S. Pat. No. 7,578,231 B2 discloses a plunger device for use with a beverage press having a screen for filtering fines from an infused beverage. A flexible seal is provided that is compressible to function properly in different sized containers. The seal may be made of a material such a rubber or rubberized plastics and may have a width greater than its thickness. Various seal embodiments are disclosed along with brew control and multiple access openings.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention is related reference may be made to the remaining cited U.S. design patents D556,454 S issued to Bodum, D573,369 S issued to Gauss and D594,267 S issued to Bodum.